Dear Ol' Dad
by TurboLoverBOP
Summary: Helena has a run in with Batman.


**DEAR OL' DAD**

I glance at my watch and realize it's now almost three in the morning. I've spent the entire night babysitting petty thieves and smelly drunks and have had enough for the night. "Oracle?"

:: Go ahead. ::

"I'm calling it a night."

:: Okay. I've got nothing coming in so I'll see you tomorrow. ::

"Night."

:: Good night. ::

I turned my comm off and turned around to head towards the side of the roof top but about ten yards across from me stood this dark figure with his head down. I blew out a breath, muttering to myself, "And here I thought I was done for the night." I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my head to the side,"Look, it's been a long night and I'm really not in the mood." The figure remained still for a moment but then he raised his head. The moon cast enough light upon his silhouette for me to recognize the points of his cowl. "Now I'm REALLY not in the mood," I said with a sneer as I turned around to go the other way. But when I made it around he was standing directly in front of me. He was taller than me so he looked like a giant shadow looming over me. "Can't you take a hint? I don't want to...omph," I gasped as he drove a fist hard into my ribs. I choked and coughed, trying to recover the air that had been knocked out of my lungs, but he didn't give me much time to recover before he picked me up by grabbing onto the front of my coat and holding me high in the air.

"Tell Oracle I'm coming for her," he said in a low, growling voice before he slammed me back down onto the rooftop and proceeded to punch and kick me over and over.

At first I didn't defend myself because it was my father. There's this unwritten rule that you don't hit your parents, even in a disfunctional family like mine. But it got to the point where I had to, so I did. I punched him and I kicked him. I did everything I could to get him to stop making me bleed, but he was extremely strong. Another punch to my face sent a galaxy of stars swirling above my head and then the following punch to my mouth filled it with blood and made my world come to a screeching halt. That's when I felt like I'd gone deaf because everything around me seemed to disappear. I sank to my knees and pitched forward as the night got darker.

0 0 0

I came to and realized I was still lying on the rooftop, only it was now almost dawn. I grimaced and spit out the blood that was in my mouth, then rolled onto my side. "Ugh." Every inch of my body was sore. Everything was a blur and it took a few moments for the world to come back into focus and then got myself onto my knees. My head was swimming so I just kinda sat there for a while, breathing heavily. When I put my hand to the side of my head it was wet and sticky. It was obvious to me what it was.

After a few minutes I managed to stand up and walk a few steps. I needed to get off this rooftop before the sun came up and unfortunately the quickest route wasn't street level.

I painfully lept from rooftop to rooftop, and by the time I got into the elevator at the Clocktower I felt worse than I did before. I sat down on the elevator floor as I rode it up and put my head in my hands as I tried to make sense of everything that had happened. I just wanted to crawl up into a ball and go to sleep.

The doors opened and I crawled out. I didn't get far before I just decided to stop and lie on the floor. I shut my eyes for a few minutes to gather up some strength and calm myself down. It felt weird being in the room without Barbara in it, feverishly working at the computers and hearing the continously clicking of her fingers over her keyboard.

I got myself up and staggered into the kitchen where I grabbed a beer and a package of frozen peas. I downed the beer, hoping it would mask the pain coursing through me, then I gingerly sat down at the table. I put my arms on the table and then rested my head on top of them, putting the cold bag of peas on the back of my neck in an attempt to stop my brain from pounding against my skull.

My nose started to bleed again and I just let it go. I didn't have the strength to move and the beer was starting to kick in a little so I figured it was best not to move and disrupt my progress.

"Helena?" I heard Barbara from a distance.

"Mmm," I mumbled in response.

I heard the roar of her chair come towards me but she went to the refrigerator. "Lemme guess, you went out partying after sweeps last night and drank a little too much." I heard the fridge door shut and felt her come over next to me, taking the beer bottle off the table. "Or are still drinking, this bottle's still cold. Helena! You shouldn't be...Helena?" She put one hand on my arm and another on my head, moving it to get a look at my face. "Oh Jesus!" she gasped as she got a peek of my bloody face.

"Don't! Let me sit here until my head stops killing." I moved my head back down, annoyed by the interruption.

She didn't listen, of course. "What the hell happened?" She absently stroked the back of my head. "Let me take a look at you, please."

"It's fine."

"Helena, it's far from being fine. You're bleeding all over my table!" I sucked in a breath and gathered up enough strength to pick my head up and then sit up. "Holy shit!" she gasped.

"Is it that bad?"

"Oh my God! Who did this to you?" She bolted over to the sink to wet a dishtowel and began cleaning up my face.

"Ow! Easy!"

Her face contorted as she wiped the old and new blood away and then placed the towel over my nose, pinching the bridge. "Lean forward so you don't choke on the blood." She held it in place and rubbed my back as if I were a little kid that had just gotten hurt at the playground. "I don't think it's broken, but someone got you good. I'm afraid to ask where else it hurts, not that you'll tell me."

We sat in silence for what seemed like forever as she kept the pressure on my nose. Barbara is very good when it comes to motherly duties and even though I say that I hate when she fusses over me I actually like it when she does because it makes me feel loved.

She took the towel away and put her hand on my shoulder, easing me back to sitting up-right. I felt a little wave of dizziness hit me. "Woah."

"Easy does it. It's from the bloodloss." She tossed the towel away and got the small first aid kit out from under the sink. "You want to tell me what happened, or am I right when I assume that you got a little too drunk and decided to pick a fight with someone that wasn't your size."

I looked her in the eye as I took a clean towel from her and placed it back over my nose. "Actually, what you're looking at is a result of my own father's hand."

If there was ever a time to insert the needle scratching across the record sound effect it would have been here because she immediately froze. "What?!?"

"Yep. Dear old dad decided to kick the living shit out of his own daughter."

I could feel her hands trembling as she cleaned my face. "But...he...he wouldn't do such a thing. Are you sure?"

I batted her hand away and stood up. "Are you calling me a liar?"

"No. No, I'm not. I just...I can't believe he'd..."

"Believe it, Barbara he..." I winced at the pain in my ribs but quickly masked it by moving away from her. "He lost his mind years ago after his fight with the Joker." I leaned on the back of one of the chairs in an effort to relieve the pressure on my ribs and it was obvious she caught onto me. "He's been gone for years and no one's heard from him. Now he blows into town, beats me half to death and tells me to tell you that he's coming for you. So believe what you want. I'm outta here." I started walking towards the elevator, doing my best not to cry from the pain in my ribs.

"Wait! Helena! He said he's coming for me? What? What does he mean?"

I spun around and faced her, "What does he mean? Do you really think that between each punch and every kick I was having a heart-to-heart talk with him?"

The elevator doors opened but she drove her chair in front of me, blocking the entrance. "Please, Helena. Don't leave. You're hurt. We can sort this out together. I'm sorry, I'm not doubting you it's just...unexpected." I didn't have the strength to argue with her. "Alfred!" she yelled out.

Everything must have caught up with me because I dropped to my knees and hovered over the verge of passing out or bursting into tears. "Why would he do this to me?"

"Shh, it's okay, baby." She took me into her arms and I felt my body relax from her comfort.

"Dear Lord what is going on?" Alfred said as he took in the scene before him.

"Alfred, can you help me get Helena into the lab."

The old man eased me away from Barbara's embrace and put my arm around his neck. The movement caused me to gasp in pain but he never flinched.

I spent the next few hours getting scanned, cleaned up, stitched, and yes...even medicated. The drugs weren't enough to knock me out but were enough to numb me up to the point where I didn't have to think or feel much at all. I welcomed the escape, even if it was only for a few short hours.

Barbara wheeled into my room with a tray of soup. "How you doing in here?"

"Physically? Better."

"Brought you some soup and some aspirin."

"Yes to the soup and no thanks for the aspirin." I sat up and took the tray from her.

"I know it's soon but we need to talk."

"I've already told you everything. There's nothing else to tell you unless you want a play-by-play of him beating me senseless, which I doubt."

"He didn't say anything else other than to tell me he was coming for me?"

I sipped my soup and shook my head. "Unless he said something to me while he was attacking me, I don't remember it though." Barbara chewed on her bottom lip and I could see the wheels turning in her head. I took a couple more sips of the soup and set the bowl on the nightstand before swinging my legs over the side of the bed. "Well..."

"Where are you going?"

I stood up and felt a lot better than I had this morning. I was still somewhat weak, but being half meta was great for healing up and moving on with things. "I can't lie here all day while my father's out there plotting some way to get to you. I need to get out there and find him."

"Oh no you don't."

I walked out of the room and glanced at my watch. "I'm going to go home, grab a shower and change and get out there."

"Helena, wait. We need a plan. You can't just go back out there and confront him again. You may be meta but you're still hurt and you're going to put yourself at risk. If you want to be of any help to me you'll at least wait until tomorrow."

I pressed theelevator door button and waited for the doors to open. "Plan what? We have nothing to go on so how would we plan? We'd just be wasting time."

"You need to stop rushing things all the time and think things through. It wouldn't kill you to wait another night."

"No," I said as the doors opened and I stepped into the empty elevator, "but it might kill you if he were to get to you between now and then. I'm not taking that chance."

"Don't do this," she said as the doors slid shut in front of us, cutting off our conversation.

0 0 0

As soon as it was dark, I was back out on the streets. My ribs were nagging at me but the pain wasn't as bad. It was more of a distraction than anything else.

"Do you always have to take the world on alone?"

I spun around and found Dinah standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"Barbara told me what happened and I came out to make sure you were okay."

"I don't need any help, if that's what you're implying. So you can go back home and tell Barbara you found me, maybe she'll make you Rice Krispie treats as a prize."

Dinah put her hands on her hips as she walked closer to me, "For your information, Barbara thinks I'm at Gabby's."

I chuckled slightly, "Great. So if something goes down and you get hurt I'm going to be in double trouble."

"I can handle myself, don't worry." She looked me over. "You should probably sit or something, you don't look so good."

"I'm fine." I really wasn't though. I mean, I felt better but better isn't in the same category as pain-free.

:: Huntress, come in. :: Barbara's voice was laced with panic.

"Go ahead."

:: I think he's here. ::

"I'm on my way." I didn't even turn to Dinah, my tunnel vision kicked in and I hauled ass back to the Clocktower.

When we got up to the lair, there was no sign of Barbara. My stomach dropped to my feet. I didn't want to call out her name in case he was there. I felt somewhat helpless as I crept into the room.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when she appeared to our left, zooming down the hall. "Barbara! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Something tripped the alarms. I just triple checked everything and there's no sign of entry. I'm sorry to make you rush back here."

"Don't apologize. It's better to be..."

CRASH!!!!

Our conversation was interrupted by the clock face glass smashing and a small metal device skidding across the floor by our feet.

"Take cover!" Barbara yelled.

I grabbed Barbara out of her chair and hauled her to the side of the room, covering her with my body as the device made a loud pop followed by yellow smoke pouring into the air.

"Everyone into the lab!" I hauled Barbara up and we all dashed into the lab, quickly shutting the door to keep the smoke from coming in.

"What the hell is that stuff?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"It's a combination of tear gas and a nerve gas. Inhale too much and your body freezes up and you choke to death on the fumes. It's called..."

"Barbara, I get it. No need to get all technical on me."

"Helena, go into that cabinet and get the bottle with the blue cap on it. We need to take one to make us immue to the toxin." I distributed the pills and we all took one. "Dinah, can you unlock that drawer by the sink and get me my transponder."

"No way! You're NOT using that thing!" I protested. "I'll go back out there and get your chair, you're NOT..."

"Helena! I can't fight him sitting in a chair!"

"And you can't fight him if he gets in that one blow that makes you worse. Dinah, you get that transponder and so help me God I'll break both of your hands."

Dinah just stood there, not knowing who to listen to.

"Dinah, give it to me NOW! We don't have time to argue about this."

"Fine, you do what you want and I'll do what I want." With that, I left the room and headed back to the computer room.

"Helena!" Barbara called out to me, but I didn't turn back.

I slowly walked down the hallway and could see the room from where I was. Even through the remaining smoke I couldn't see anyone in the room.

I got to the end of the hall and put my back against the wall as I peered around the corner into the room, getting a better look. Still no one. I took a few steps forward and felt a presence. My eyes turned catlike and before I could think or react, he was on me.

"Where is she?" he snarled from behind me.

I whipped around and swung my arm to hit him, but he grabbed my wrist and twirled me around, knocking me to the ground. "Who?" I said, playing along like a brat. I kicked upwards and caught him on the chin, sending him stumbling backwards, but it didn't do anything more than piss him off. He launched himself towards me and I leapt out of the way, smiling at him. "What's the matter, daddy? Are you losing your touch?"

He came at me again, this time grabbing me by the back of the head as he got a fistful of my hair. I knew I was screwed when I saw the fist flying towards my face. That stinging and burning sensation in my nose introduced itself again and the blood poured out with ease, quickly staining the front of my shirt.

"Stop!" I heard Barbara shout. "It's me you want."

He was about to hit me again but he let go of me and I flopped to the ground, smacking my head on the thick stone floor. "Oracle, there you are my sweet."

"Oracle?" she repeated with a confused tone.

"I'm sorry I didn't contact you sooner. I've been trying to find a way to get to you for the longest time so I've spent the last few years doing my homework. Little Miss Huntress here was the key to making it all happen."

"You're not Batman," she said angrily, "How dare you insult him by pretending to be him."

He laughed and looked back at me, "Huntress here certainly seemed to buy it."

"You bastard," I seethed as I quickly rose to my feet and barreled towards him, tackling him to the ground and unloading punch after punch.

"Huntress!" Barbara yelled as she ran over to me and tried to get me to stop.

He used the interruption to punch me square in the ribs, sending me rolling off of him and into a curled-up ball of agony. As I gasped and whimpered, I could see Dinah and Barbara taking him on. I was completely useless at the moment as I watched both Dinah and Barbara struggle to obtain the upperhand.

With a few punches, he took Dinah out and sent her crashing into the wall, unmoving. Then he turned to Barbara. She was a damn good fighter, but her transponder limited her abilities after a while because of the pain it caused her while using it. I could see it written all over her face with every movement.

She landed hard on the floor and my heart nearly stopped when she didn't get back up. He stood over her and pulled out a gun. "I wanted to save the best for last."

"NO!!!!!" I screamed as I ignored all of my pain and ran towards him.

I heard a single gunshot just as my body made contact with his.

We skidded across the floor, me on top of him. I quickly got up and readied myself for a fight but he didn't get up. Blood began to pool underneath him and I had my answer why. I looked over at Barbara who was still on the floor, unconscious.

Alfred appeared from the darkness, gun in-hand. "Are you alright, Miss Helena?"

I nodded slightly and immediately dropped down beside Barbara, pulling her into my arms.

0 0 0

The Clocktower became somewhat of a hospital ward over the next week as we all recovered from our injuries. Dinah had a concussion and a broken arm, Barbara had too many cuts and bruises to count along with a nasty burn on her back from the transponder, and I was the lucky one with internal bleeding from a ruptured spleen and two broken ribs.

Even though I wasn't feeling so hot, I was relieved. Relieved to know that it wasn't my father who brought me so much pain. The tip off for Barbara was that he called her Oracle - guess I left that part out when I had told her what had happened. I guess my father never referred to her by that, unless they were in combat. It's kinda sad though that Barbara knows him better than I do and I'm his flesh and blood.

My father's impersonator was a man from Barbara's past who began somewhat obsessed over her. He worked at a local coffee shop and frequently asked her out, which she frequently turned down. Months past and he became a stalker, of sorts. He ended up in the looney bin but apparently escaped. I'm just glad we were able to make it through another battle with yet another psycho.

FIN


End file.
